Beyond the constraints of QWERTY keyboard: Challenges to provide alternative input methods for Japanese older adults

Abstract

Standard QWERTY keyboards are considered as a major source of reluctance towards computer usage by Japanese elderly, because of their limited experience with Western typewriters and the high cognitive demand involved in typing Japanese characters with them. This paper discusses the difficulty in typing Japanese characters using QWERTY keyboards, and then introduces two alternative approaches. The first approach makes use of touchscreen and software keyboards. Touchscreen enables users to enter Japanese characters more directly and is expected to moderate their resistance. As the second approach, a trial to develop a mechanical keyboard that is able to change its key layout dynamically is introduced. The proposed keyboard is also capable to change colors of keys, to flash keys to attract users' attention, and to hide unnecessary keys to avoid errors. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.